➗ Math apps and platforms · 🏫 Classroom tools
Zearn Math
By Zearn (nonprofit). Visit Zearn Math
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A nonprofit online math program for kindergarten through grade 8 that schools use alongside their regular math class. A child logs in to watch an on-screen teacher, works through visual models and digital manipulatives, and solves problems with paper and pencil. When a child gets stuck, the lesson breaks the step down. Teachers see reports. It follows a concrete-to-pictorial-to-abstract approach and is designed for about three 30-minute lessons a week.
Our take: A solid pick for schools wanting evidence-backed math practice; parents looking for a home-only program will find it less suited.
| Ages it suits | grades K-8 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | Accounts are created by an adult: a parent, guardian, or authorized school or district employee. Children under 13 may not register on their own. (terms) |
| Price | Through schools. Free for a single teacher classroom of up to 35 students (Oct 2026). School accounts are $3,500 per school per year, as listed by Evidence for ESSA. |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | A school account |
| Ads | None |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI in the student lessons; the privacy policy says it does not use student or teacher personal data to train AI models. |
What's good
- Top Evidence for ESSA rating among digital math programs
- Free for one teacher classroom
- Nonprofit with no ads and clear limits on data use
- Mixes screen lessons with paper-and-pencil work
Watch for
- Built to follow a school's curriculum; less useful as a stand-alone home program
- Results depend on steady use, about three lessons a week
- Effects in independent studies are small
Data and privacy
Zearn collects a student's name, ID, login and grade from the school or parent, plus answers and timing. It says it does not sell student data, shows no third-party ads, does not track users across other sites, and does not use personal data to train AI; it follows FERPA and COPPA. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
Rated Strong (Tier 1) by Evidence for ESSA, based mainly on a RAND randomized trial in Texas with over 10,000 students; average effect across three studies was small (+0.09), the Texas state test result alone was not statistically significant, and the strongest results came with paid coaching support. Several other studies on Zearn's site are its own usage-based analyses.
In the Big Index
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Adventure Academy
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ALEKS
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AoPS Online
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Where these facts come from
- https://about.zearn.org/
- https://about.zearn.org/getting-started
- https://about.zearn.org/terms
- https://about.zearn.org/privacy
- https://about.zearn.org/research
- https://www.evidenceforessa.org/program/zearn-math/
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.